Unholy marriage of machine and…what?
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I refuse to believe that anyone really thought this was a good idea. This terrifying combination of dead grey rubber and and the wobbling of an overgrown 2 year old toddler belongs in someone’s dark musty basement, behind locked doors. No, this wasn’t mean to be cute or helpful – it was made by sadists to give us nightmares and to define “Uncanny Valley” yet again.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
As the user posting it on youtube puts it
‘it moves like a man’s baby’
Ok.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
Give me a break, it’s a lab prototype! It’s amazing. Would you stop complaining if they slapped some skin tone paint on it? We’re close to real life like bidepal robots. Start equipping them with better AI and who knows what we can do. This is awesome.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Dan B. – I want to love it, I do! But no amount of skin tone can make me love a toddler, certainly not a monstrously huge one.
November 28th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Locks ALL doors in house. Sits in corner with knife.
November 28th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Wow, state of the art but…yikes! It has a glimmer of soul in its eyes! I think what freaks me out the most is that they allowed it to move so quickly. We’re still trying to figure out how to “trust” these robots…if this one were to wig out, it looks like it could cause serious problems. It looks like it could go on a murderous robot “Dennis the Menace” rampage :o
November 29th, 2007 at 5:16 am
I deal with digital people all the time, and until now I never had a brush with the uncanny valley.
For a lab prototype it’s amazing…but it brings to mind a muchkin Terminator, one of the early rubber skin models….or it could be that I just don’t like toddlers ;)
November 29th, 2007 at 9:41 am
It reminds me of Gibson’s All Tomorrow’s Parties, the bit wherein the Japanese had developed “replacement grandchildren” for grandparents going through the death of a grandchild. Ick.
November 29th, 2007 at 10:14 am
its learning to walk. and thats just what they show in the media. at home its horrible robot parents are plugged into their recharge ports, knitting it a sweater and discussing the exact amount of pressure needed to crush a human skull without getting all the viscera in their hand joints – they are considering rubber gloves.
November 29th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Out of context, the shot of the gentleman groping it’s rubberized thigh is, to use the words of a Japanese aquaintence of mine, ” …a ‘something different’ kind of situation.”